HSBC Holdings Plc's chairman Mark Tucker said he would stand down by the end of the year after a turbulent eight-year tenure that has seen him oversee three changes of CEO, a clash with one of the bank's largest shareholders, and a public slapdown from the US government.
Tucker said "strong foundations" had been laid for Europe's largest bank to grow since he took over as chairman in 2017 and that he expected the business to go from "strength to strength" over the coming years, according to a statement.
A search for Tucker's successor is being led by Ann Godbehere, HSBC's senior independent director, as the bank looks to replace its departing chairman within the next seven months. "The board is conducting a thorough process to identify the best candidate" and "support group CEO, Georges Elhedery, and the wider management team, through the next period of development and growth for the bank," Godbehere said.
Over his term, Tucker has overseen a radical reshaping of HSBC, including two major restructurings of its business that has increasingly pivoted it toward its core markets in Asia, while cutting back its operations in the West.
In 2019, Tucker ousted then HSBC CEO John Flint and last year he oversaw the replacement of Flint's successor, Noel Quinn, by Elhedery, who became the fourth CEO to serve under him. "I am very confident that under Georges' leadership, HSBC will go from strength to strength. I wish HSBC and all its stakeholders continued success and prosperity," Tucker said in the statement.
Recent years have seen a spate of crises that have required Tucker to help HSBC navigate through the increasingly fractious relationship between the US and China. In 2020, the bank was criticized publicly by then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over its support for a new security law in Hong Kong. Two years later, a fresh crisis erupted as Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China launched a campaign to break up the lender, a battle it ultimately lost at a shareholder vote a year later.
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The chairmanship of HSBC is one of the biggest jobs in global finance. Traditionally, HSBC has appointed insiders to the role, though the practice ended with Tucker's 2017 appointment.
